The history of Chinese Qigong can be roughly divided into four periods. We know little about the first period, which is considered to have started when the Yi Jing (Book of Changes, ) was introduced sometime before 1122 B.C., and to have extended until the Han dynasty (206 B.C., ) when Buddhism and its meditation methods were imported from India. This infusion brought Qigong practice and meditation into the second period, the religious Qigong era. This period lasted until the Liang dynasty (502-557 A.D., ), when it was discovered that Qigong could be used for martial purposes. This was the beginning of the third period, that of martial Qigong. Many different martial Qigong styles were created based on the theories and principles of Buddhist and Daoist Qigong. This period lasted until the overthrow of the Qing dynasty () in 1911, when the new era started in which Chinese Qigong training is being mixed with Qigong practices from India, Japan, and many other countries.
The Yi Jing (Book of Changes; 1122 B.C.) was probably the first Chinese book related to Qi. It introduced the concept of the three natural energies or powers (San Cai, ): Tian (Heaven, ), Di (Earth, ), and Ren (Man, ). Studying the relationship of these three natural powers was the first step in the development of Qigong.
In 1766-1154 B.C. (the Shang dynasty, ), the Chinese capital was in today’s An Yang in Henan province (). An archeological dig there at a late Shang dynasty burial ground called Yin Xu () discovered more than 160,000 pieces of turtle shell and animal bone which were covered with written characters. This writing, called “Jia Gu Wen” (Oracle-Bone Scripture, ), was the earliest evidence of the Chinese use of the written word. Most of the information recorded was of a religious nature. There was no mention of acupuncture or other medical knowledge, even though it was recorded in the Nei Jing () that during the reign of the Yellow emperor (2690-2590 B.C., ) Bian Shi (stone probes, ) were already being used to adjust people’s Qi circulation. The archeologists did, however, discover stones at the dig which they believed were Bian Shi (Figure 2-1).
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Figure 2-1. Acupuncture stone probes (Bian Shi)
During the Zhou dynasty (1122-934 B.C., ), Lao Zi ()(Li Er, ) mentioned certain breathing techniques in his classic Dao De Jing (Classic on the Virtue of the Dao, ). He stressed that the way to obtain health was to “concentrate on Qi and achieve softness” (Zhuan Qi Zhi Rou, ). Later, Shi Ji (Historical Record, ) in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770-221 B.C., ) also described more complete methods of breath training. About 300 B.C. the Daoist philosopher Zhuang Zi () described the relationship between health and the breath in his book Nan Hua Jing (). It states: “The real person’s (i.e. immortal’s) breathing reaches down to their heels. The normal person’s breathing in the throat.”1 This suggests that a breathing method for Qi circulation was already being used by some Daoists at that time.
During the Qin and Han dynasties (221 B.C.-220 A.D., ) there are several medical references to Qigong in the literature, such as the Nan Jing (Classic on Disorders, ) by the famous physician Bian Que (), which describes using the breathing to increase Qi circulation. Jin Kui Yao Lue (Prescriptions from the Golden Chamber, ) by Zhang, Zhong-Jing () discusses the use of breathing and acupuncture to maintain good Qi flow. Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi (A Comparative Study of the Zhou (dynasty) Book of Changes, ) by Wei, Bo-Yang () explains the relationship of human beings to nature’s forces and Qi. It can be seen from this list that up to this time, almost all of the Qigong publications were written by scholars such as Lao Zi () and Zhuang Zi (), or physicians such as Bian Que and Wei, Bo-Yang.
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Let us conclude with a few important points about the Qigong in this period:
1. Historical documents for this period are scarce today, and it is difficult to obtain detailed information, especially about Qigong training.
2. There were two major types of Qigong training. One type was used by the Confucian and Daoist scholars, who used it primarily to maintain their health. The other type of Qigong was for medical purposes, using needles or exercises to adjust the Qi or to cure illness.
3. There was almost no religious color to the training.
4. All of the training focused on following the natural way and improving and maintaining health. Actively countering the effects of nature was considered impossible.
